Here Are Three Must-Haves for Your Fall Reading List

Clay Smith, editor-in-chief of Kirkus Reviews, shares his top book picks for the cooler weather.

By Joy DiazSeptember 6, 2016 9:30 am

It’s time to wrap up your summer book list and transition into fall’s good-reads. The fall is the publishing industry’s time to roll out the big hitters, says Clay Smith, editor-in-chief at Kirkus Reviews.

At Kirkus, they hand out books to reviewers to get the scoop on what’s interesting and what’s not in the upcoming season. Here are three books that Smith recommends you curl up with once the cool weather sets in:

Fiction – Swing Time, by Zadie Smith

“It’s about friendship and class and fame and race. She throws all the big topics in there. It’s about two black women – two girls – in London. One of them has a lot of talent at dancing and ballet, and the other one doesn’t. And our narrator does something in the modern social age that is unforgivable.”

Non-Fiction – Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair that Shaped a First Lady, by Susan Quinn

“We’re talking about Eleanor Roosevelt this fascinating woman, Lorena Hickock, who grew up poor in rural South Dakota and in the [1920s] and 30s became one of the AP’s leading reporters. For a woman at that time, that was a very difficult thing to do. … This book goes into this weird ethical boundary of was she really a reporter? … She knew all the Roosevelt secrets and she didn’t put them in her articles. She was in love with the first lady. And the reason this book is news is there have been previous books that have hinted at this relationship or speculated, but this is really the book that boldly says that they had a love affair and quotes from letters.”

For Children – Rudas: Niño’s Horrendous Hermanitas, illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales

This book is a sequel. The children in this book are actually luchadores – which are the Mexican wrestlers. They’re divided into two categories: one is the técnicos – those are the good guys – and the others are the rudos – which are the bad guys. Niño’s sisters become rudas – which is bad girls. The fight between the brothers and sisters plays out in a really vibrant and fun way. It’s just a beautifully done, really wonderful book that we call a ‘rowdy raucous return’ for Niño.”

Post by Beth Cortez-Neavel.